Jared Dodds, News Reporter
Humber students head to the polls and vote for the leaders of IGNITE next month.
Student’s nomination window opened on Jan. 27 and will run until Feb. 14, all leading up to the beginning of the voting period on March 9.
But this year will be different, as students will be voting to fill fewer positions than ever.
After changes approved at the Special Meeting of the Members in January, the only positions students will be able to run for will be seats on IGNITE’s board of directors.
In previous years students have voted to fill both these positions and seats in the executive branch, the president and three vice-presidents, which will no longer be the case after the by-law changed.
The president and vice presidents are now known as Student Engagement Co-ordinators and are paid positions and have attracted most of the attention in previous elections.
Current President Monica Khosla earns $40,000 a year for her work.
Meanwhile, members of the board receive a stipend of up to $2,000 per semester depending on the engagement, according to the IGNITE elections package.
“With elections it’s hard to hold certain individuals accountable,” said Julia Ciampa, a current member of the board of directors. “When we’re hiring the executives, we’ll be able to go through a formal interview, have a resume handed in, it’s much more of an accountability thing.”
IGNITE has yet to outline what the hiring process or interview questions will be for future executives.
This year there will be 10 positions up for grabs: four directors from the North campus, three from the Lakeshore campus, two from the University of Guelph-Humber and one from Orangeville.
This is the last year the Orangeville position will be available as the campus closes June 2021.
Students from Guelph-Humber will also have the opportunity to run for one of four positions on the University of Guelph Senate.
The senate is the governing body for both the University of Guelph and the University of Guelph-Humber programs.
For students to be eligible to run they must be a full-time student, procure 100 signatures from members on the campus they are running for, and be eligible under the IGNITE by-laws.
Candidates running for the Orangeville campus will only need to obtain 25 signatures.
Students must also be in good academic standing, meaning they cannot be or have been on academic probation within the last year.
Ercole Perrone, the executive director of IGNITE, “will confirm each candidate’s respective eligibility for the election,” according to the nomination package.
If only one candidate is running for a certain position, they will run on a Yes/No ballot, with the position remaining open if the majority of voters select no.
Other requirements laid out in the election package are accountability, a flexible schedule and strong leadership qualities.
Neto Naniwambote, the current chairman of the board of directors, is yet to announce whether he will be seeking re-election.
